From Stockholm to Copenhagen via Rio:
Art and Ecology in the Wake of the Global Summits
Muzeum Sztuki Lodz (2 September 2010)

In their talk at Muzeum Sztuki, art and sustainability theorists Maja and Reuben Fowkes explore the lessons of art’s engagement with ecology, from the first understanding of the crisis of human environment in the early 70s, to the global perspective ushered in by the end of the Cold War, with the popularisation of the idea of sustainable development at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and the crystallisation of the debate between technocratic and radical approaches at the ill-fated Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009...(more)

Reclaim Happiness: Art and Ecology Unbound
Artecontexto (summer 2010)

Feature article in Spanish art magazine Artecontexto on the realisation that at the heart of much contemporary art discourse lies a growth model that replicates our unsustainable economic system...(more)

Ecology and Ideology: In Search of an Antidote in Contemporary Art
VERGE no.1 (February 2010)

Sustainability has become a buzzword of politics and commerce, and with its spread from the field of environmentalism into society there has been some dilution of its radical implications. Ecological sustainability is also mentioned with increasing frequency in discussions of contemporary art and there is a parallel lack of awareness of the history of environmental thought, which in many accounts begins and ends with the early 60s classic of poetic, anti-pollution literature, The Silent Spring. If we begin with an understanding of sustainability derived from green capitalism, then the widespread belief amongst critical theorists that sustainability was invented by big corporations to create new markets for environmentally-friendly products seems a logical conclusion. Unravelling the confusion between ecological sustainability and greenwash, in other words between the solution and part of the problem, requires revisiting theoretical debates within the field of ecology, in order to open up our understanding of sustainability and its relevance for both society and contemporary art...(more)

Art, Post-Fordism and Eco-Critique

The 2010 Symposium on Sustainability and Contemporary Art brought together artists, philosophers, environmental scientists and activists to explore the conundrum of capitalism’s remarkable ability to absorb criticism and adapt to new circumstances. According to post-Fordist theory, in the wake of the social upheaval of May 1968 capitalism was able to recuperate radical desires for freedom, creativity and personal liberation through the adoption of the principles of flexibility, horizontality and autonomy, and the shift from industrialism to immaterial labour...(more)

The Ecological Footprint of Contemporary Art

A broad-based investigation into the environmental sustainability of the international art world that includes both consideration of the direct environmental impact of art works, conferences, biennials and art fairs, and discussion of the potential positive offsets associated with the social role of contemporary art in a globalised world. The project will involve a series of talks and publications and is generously supported by Arts Council England...(more)

Hard Realities and the New Materiality

Symposium on Sustainability and Contemporary Art at Central European University Budapest on 26 March 2009 to examine the recent reappearance of a harsh materiality from struggles for ever-diminishing resources to the degradation of the environment, speakers include: Marina Grzinic, Sebastjan Leban, Tadzio Müller, Tamás St.Auby, Janek Simon. This was the third in an annual series of events organised at CEU..(more)

The Ecology of Post-Socialism

The year of the Rio Summit marked the end of the optimistic period following the fall of the Berlin Wall, as countries were confronted with the hard realities of international Realpolitik. Perhaps it was the disintegration of the ideological polarities of the Cold War that made it possible for the notion of sustainability to emerge in the context of a global understanding of ecological and social crisis. Published in Art and Theory After Socialism (2008)...(more)

Towards the Ecology of Freedom

It is perfectly possible for contemporary art to be sustainable without having a direct political or environmental message, as long as it meets the requirements of not damaging the environment and not being exploitative. Many contemporary art projects however resist the simple binary opposition between engaged and non-instrumental art, no longer so much for the sake of the ambiguity prized by the art market, but because they refuse to compromise the autonomy of art by submitting to external discourses. It is precisely the autonomy that art nurtures in society that gives art its sovereignty, or the power to be critical and explore alternatives. The singular creativity of artists puts them in a unique and increasingly recognised position to be free. First published in GROUND UP: Re-Considering Contemporary Art Practice in the Rural Context (2008), republished in Antennae (2009)...(more)

Exit or Activism?

This symposium investigates the current state of thinking about sustainability in the light of the continuing mutations of post-Fordist global capitalism and its devastating effects on the environment, society and the individual. The axis of discussion will revolve around the strategic possibilities for resistance offered by tactical withdrawal versus relentless activism through contemporary art. On the one hand, the dilemma gives rise to a conscious decision to slow down, decline to participate, to seek a way out, or ‘exit’ as envisioned by Paulo Virno, or on the other, there is a passion to overcome political exhaustion and confront head on rampant injustice, environmental degradation and lack of liberty...(more)

Exhibition: REHAB

REHAB is a refuge where we can hide when we want a break from contemporary lifestyles and the damaging influence they have on our mental and physical well-being. In a system in which we're constantly obliged to be socially responsible, in the moments when we want a rest from continuous pressure to conform to social norms, REHAB is an emergency exit. REHAB is also a state of mind, a decision to press pause and unwind, a refusal of ideological conditioning and a rejection of the slavery of political engagement, a shrugging off of the burden of social responsibility and responsible socialising. REHAB purifies us and offers a chance to refresh and recharge our creative energies...(more)

Sensuous Resistance

The division between the modernist legacy of the solo artist as self-referential and the contemporary affection for the collaborative, socially-engaged, community-based artist, no longer holds. Collaborative projects can turn into vehicles for the enhancement of an individual’s career and ego, while individualist works such as this, have the potential to contribute more to the quality of life for a community. PilgrIMAGE has the quality of sustainable art, in the sense that the work creates a significant artistic effect by intervening in the web of interactions and meanings around an object, without excessive use of materials or unjustified actions, through the efficient use of new technologies...(more)

The Art of Making Do with Enough

Sustainability in art brings awareness of a wider ecological context around the production and reception of art works. It questions the sacrosanct status of the art object as the highest civilisational value and problematises the belief that artworks are created, and should be preserved, for eternity. Just as in society there is a tendency to stop seeing nature as an endless resource, attuned artists problematise the understanding of art as commodity, and are reluctant to add to the stockpile of art objects, choosing instead to explore alternative means of expression. Published in The New Art (2006) (more)

The Principles of Sustainability in Contemporary Art

There is no single entry point to Ivan Ladislav Galeta’s Art of Living Space. Wherever you begin, you’re immediately immersed in the interconnectedness and complexity of art and life, humans and nature, private and public. Galeta is a teacher, gardener, cyclist and artist who has grown his own garlic through twenty-nine cycles, is fascinated with circles in nature and culture, and wields a scythe as well as a camera. At the core of his activities is the questioning of our relationship towards water, plant life and the animal world, and the function of man in the world. ‘There are no hierarchies in nature’, he states.(1) The environmental concept of ecological citizenship, correspondingly, is based on the need for human beings to acknowledge their obligations towards other members of the biotic community and to expand the notion of social rights to include the right to quality of life. Many artists who engage with the contemporary notion of sustainability share an understanding for ecological equality and exercise care before embarking on any project likely to have adverse effects on the eco systems they inhabit...(more)

Symposium on Sustainability and Contemporary Art

Sustainability has been at the top of the global environmental agenda for more than a decade, but an understanding of ecological responsibility is only now beginning to have a visible impact on society and culture. The symposium aims to create a transdisciplinary space for discussion of the fundamental issues bridging the fields of art and environment, and an opportunity to be inspired by the response of leading international artists to the challenge of sustainability. This ground-breaking symposium was held in spring 2006 at CEU Budapest...(more)

Unframed Landscapes

The group exhibition Unframed Landscapes offers a reassessment of landscape as a genre in contemporary art. The conventional understanding of landscape implies a picturesque view of the countryside - images of ruined castles, a lonely tree in the puszta and romantic seaside villages come to mind. This understanding of landscape has, however, been revealed as culturally-constructed, the product of political ideologies, and conveying human domination over nature. Furthermore, landscape is perceived through a frame by a distant spectator, who remains alienated from the object of his gaze. Nature as a theme in contemporary art acts as a barometer of our ecological attunement...(more)

Human/Nature

The intriguing idea of Human/Nature is open to a number of interpretations. It includes the notion of a dichotomy between civilisation and the natural world and holds out the possibility of overcoming it. It also involves the tricky concept of 'human nature' that has divided philosophers for centuries between advocates of a harsh 'law of the jungle' and believers in the intrinsic goodness of the 'noble savage'. The debate between proponents of optimistic and pessimistic views of basic human character is further complicated by the post-modernist's belief that human nature is a self-referential linguistic construct and only meaningful within a specific cultural context. Nevertheless, we still feel a desire to delve the mysteries of human nature, and in this situation, art can take a role in divining and expressing the global unconscious...(more)